


Selfish

by BirdSpell



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Post-Blade of Marmora, Season 2 spoilers, keith really needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 08:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9431261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdSpell/pseuds/BirdSpell
Summary: Keith is in desperate need of reassurance following the Trial of Marmora. Shiro is happy to oblige.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Season 2 destroyed me, so have some Sheith while I avoid working on any longer stories.

Shiro is pretty sure that he should be asleep.

It’s been one hell of a day, he has to admit. The others had seemed exhausted just hearing about it, much less being there. And Keith… Hell, he can’t even _imagine_ how Keith must feel after all this. He’s not sure he wants to, either.

When he remembered what he’d done aboard the Galra ship, he’d been horrified. Even knowing there was nothing else he could have done if he wanted to survive, it nearly killed him, realising what he’d done. But learning that Galra blood ran in your veins? Sure, it wasn’t like Keith had ever hurt anyone because of it, and nothing about him had changed… but Shiro isn’t sure Keith will see it like that.

The others probably hadn’t helped with that. Sure, the other Paladins had done their best to disguise their horror at the idea of one of their own having anything to do with the Galra, but they aren’t very good actors. They’ll probably be fine once the shock of it wears off, but Shiro can’t help but worry that the trust they spent so long cultivating will be damaged beyond repair before they reach that point. Coran’s shock and distrust had been evident, and Allura…

Shiro gets it. He does. This is the race that destroyed her home and killed her father. If it weren’t for the Galra, she would have lived a safe, happy life on Altea. But he can’t tolerate the way she looks at Keith. It’s like she expects him to attack them at any moment! She’s treating him the same way they would treat a prisoner, and that’s-

Keith must be just as horrified and uncertain as the rest of them. It isn’t fair to act like this is his fault, no matter what his people – and that’s a weird thing to think about the Galra – did to hers. For fuck’s sake, he didn’t even know himself yesterday! Everyone is acting like this is going to cause some huge shift in the team dynamic, and it doesn’t have to. It only will if everyone forces it to. Keith is still Keith. He’s still Shiro’s friend, still their Red Paladin. He hasn’t changed that much.

Keith hadn’t spoken after he’d told the others. His voice had been so soft and unsure; it was pretty clear he’d expected their reactions to be far worse than they had been. The others had taken it pretty well, at least. Shiro isn’t sure what he would have done if they’d taken it badly. But still, even though it hadn’t been as bad as he’d feared, Keith had flinched away from their expressions as if they’d slapped him. It had been small, barely noticeable, but Shiro had seen it. He’d left the room as soon as he could get away from their questions, and no one had seen him since. Hunk had left a plate of food outside his door when he didn’t come down for dinner, and Keith had eaten it, but he didn’t respond when Hunk had knocked.

Shiro had an idea of where he might be. He doubted Keith would stay in his room if he wanted to avoid people. Besides, Shiro had seen the tension in his shoulders growing with every second from the moment the blade activated to his escape from the common room. Keith had always needed movement to work through his problems, ever since their Garrison days. Sure enough, he can hear the clash of blade on blade from halfway down the hall.

“End training sequence,” he calls as he steps into the room. Keith stumbles as the blow he’d been preparing to parry fails to appear, regaining his balance before turning to face Shiro. “Hey, buddy.”

“Sh-Shiro,” Keith stammers. “Uh, what’s up? You wanna train or something?” The unspoken _I can leave_ stings a little.

“No, no,” Shiro says. “I was just wondering what you were up to.” He eyes Keith. His friend is trembling just slightly, and favouring his right shoulder where the Marmora soldier had slashed him. He’s holding his Galra knife in his right hand. “Practicing?”

“Uh, yeah.” Keith rubs the back of his neck. “Figured I should… probably get used to using it.”

“I guess two weapons is better than one,” Shiro agrees. Keith looks almost surprised. “Come on, it’s late. You had one hell of a fight earlier; you must be tired.”

“I’m fine,” Keith says. Shiro is already crossing the floor to grab his wrist as he does. “Hey, Shiro! What’re you doing?”

Shiro drags his friend out of the training room. “You’re not fine,” he says over his shoulder. “If you won’t rest in one of the healing pods, you can at least get some sleep.”

“Already tried that,” Keith grumbles.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.” Keith looks away when Shiro glances back at him. Even after all this time, he’s still an awful liar. “Shouldn’t you be asleep, if it’s so late?”

“How am I supposed to sleep without making sure my best friend is doing alright?” Shiro retorts.

Keith stops abruptly, yanking his wrist out of Shiro’s grip. “We are still friends, right?”

Shiro whirls to face him. “What- Of course we are! Why wouldn’t we be?!”

Keith shakes his head. “Forget it. It’s not important. Look, I’ll head back to my room, so you should get some sleep-“

Shiro grabs him before he can walk away. “Oh, no you don’t. You don’t say something like that and then walk away, Keith! I’m serious,” he continues when Keith tries to pull back. “I’m worried about you, buddy. I know today’s been hard, and I want to make sure you’re okay. Please, be honest with me.”

“Not here,” Keith says, glancing around as if he thinks the others will appear. “Can we go back to your room?”

“Of course.” Shiro leads the way there, never letting go of Keith’s wrist. It feels like he might disappear if Shiro lets go. Keith sits on the bed while Shiro turns on the lights and locks the door; he’s tense, eyes scanning the room as if trying to find the best way to escape the situation. He probably is, if Shiro is honest with himself. “Okay, so? I doubt you’re fine with everything that’s been happening. How can I help?”

“You really don’t have to worry,” Keith protests. “You’re tired too. You should just go to sleep, it’s selfish of me to ask you to deal with my problems on top of your own. Really, I’ll manage.”

“I’m not asking if you’ll manage, I’m asking if you’re okay.” Shiro reaches out to ruffle Keith’s hair. “This is about what that hologram thing said, isn’t it? Keith, that wasn’t me. I swear I don’t think like that. There’s nothing selfish about needing help.”

Keith stares at him for a long moment. His eyes are shining with the beginnings of tears. “They hate me,” he says eventually. “Don’t try to say they don’t, I could see it!” he adds before Shiro can cut him off.

“They don’t hate you,” Shiro says anyway. “It was just a shock, that’s all. Give it a day or two and they’ll realise that nothing has to change.”

“What about Allura and Coran?” Keith asks. “They don’t trust me anymore. They shouldn’t. Shiro, what if I’m a monster, too?”

“Don’t say that!” Shiro snaps. He’ll definitely have to talk to the others, if this is how Keith is viewing things. “You’re _not_ a monster, and I won’t let anyone say otherwise. Not Allura, not Coran, and certainly not you. You’re still _you_ , Keith. That hasn’t changed.”

“Shiro…” Keith whispers. “I just- I don’t know what to _do_!” The tears have started rolling down his cheeks, and Shiro reaches out to brush them away without a second thought. “I- I barely knew my parents, so how can they have such a huge effect on my life _now_?! I always wanted to know more about them, and now I wish I didn’t. I have to fix it, but- What if this ruins everything?”

“It won’t,” is all Shiro can say. “It won’t, I won’t let it. And I know the others won’t either, you’ll see. You don’t have to work to fix this, Keith. Nothing’s broken, trust me.”

Keith sniffs. “You can’t know that,” he says. “How can you possibly know that?”

“I know the others,” Shiro says. “And I know you. Don’t worry, buddy. It’ll be okay.”

“If… If you’re sure,” Keith agrees. He leans forward, burying his face in Shiro’s chest. “I’ll trust you, Takashi.”

“Good.” He’s not sure what possesses him to do it, but he leans forward and kisses Keith’s forehead. “For now, we both need sleep. Rest for now, buddy.” He flushes. Damn, he probably just looked pretty ridiculous.

“’Kay,” Keith mumbles. He offers a little smile from his place against Shiro’s chest. It’s unlikely that he’s really over it so quickly, but at least he’ll sleep for tonight. “Good night, Takashi.”

“Good night.”


End file.
